'Tis the season for all things zucchini! Use up that bounty in this Savory Zucchini Bread with lemon.
I have been 'gifted' a couple of huge zucchini from my friends. (Kidding guys! I love being gifted things from the garden!!) But.. it has kept me busy...what to do with all this zucchini???
I found the perfect answer in this Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread by Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes. I think the lemon, rosemary combination makes it a bit different than many other quick breads. It is quick to make, stores well, freezes well and tastes delicious! This recipe makes 2 good sized loaves so even better - 2 for the work of 1!!
I chopped my zucchini in the food processor. Do not chop too finely or it will be too watery. I wanted to up the lemon aspect after I made this the first time so I let my zucchini drain in a colander while I measured out the other ingredients. Then I squeezed it with my bare hands to get some of the zucchini water out. That allowed me to add a bit of lemon juice to the batter.
This bread is wonderfully moist and filling. I love it for breakfast or a snack.
This time of year is so wonderful as our fresh fruits and vegetables mature. I used fresh rosemary from my garden for this recipe. And... here is a bit of a news flash - my husband and I are in the process of renovating a farm house in the Azores (Santa Maria Island)! You can grow your own lemons, limes, oranges, avocados, figs etc there... so hopefully in another year or 2, I will be able to use my own lemons as well as rosemary!
But.. back to Canada - I am thinking pickles (maybe I will try zucchini pickles?), peaches, potatoes, tomatoes.... stay tuned - this is going to be a big month!
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsps baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tbsps fresh rosemary finely minced
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt (leave this out if you are using salted butter)
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 cups zucchini roughly grated in food processor
- juice of half a lemon optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 4 X 9 loaf pans.
- Whisk the dry ingredients and the rosemary together in a bowl.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs till they are frothy, then beat in the sugar. Beat in the butter and oil, lemon zest, juice and zucchini.
- Stir in the dry ingredients a cup or so at a time. Don't over mix - just stir until it is all evenly mixed.
- Pour half the batter into each loaf pan and bake. Test with a tooth pick after 45 minutes since ovens can vary but I found I needed 50-55 minutes in my oven.
- Let loaves cool 10-15 minutes, then loosed the edges with a knife and turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.
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